Some detail shots of our barn; (many photos are the work of my very talented cousin, Emma).
These are a few interior shots of the barn before we did much demo. We had done a little work (as evidenced by the piles of salvaged wood in a few of the photos). The biggest change was the hay mow; that space had been entirely walled in (about 5 ft. high, with a short ladder to get inside). We pulled down each of the boards to reuse them elsewhere. (All were tongue and groove and toe-nailed in, and we’re trying to keep them in good condition…… so needless to say, demo has been a relatively slow process.)
Here’s a quick exterior photo tour of the barn before we did much work. The only change we’ve made shown in these photos was painting the milk house; (when we bought the property, it was a light blue to match the farmhouse, and we painted it gray).
we painted the milk house.
us. and a barn. right after we bought it.
We didn’t come up with the blog idea.
Credit belongs to our real estate goddess, Katie Kennedy, of EveryHome Realty. We found her by chance, but can now comfortably say that she’s the best real estate agent ever.
In the history of real estate.
(We promise.)
When everyone else was pushing us off or not returning our phone calls, Katie met us with enthusiasm and encouragement. She has guided us through the process so far, which we’ve definitely needed (as ours is not the most conventional approach to buying a home).
And barn-blogging was her idea.
(She’d probably be better at it anyway.)
Katie knew that, at the very least, this whole process was going to make an interesting story, and what better way to tell it than on the internet.
She may have her own (far superior) blog, and if so, we promise to link to (or steal from) hers so you can get the good stuff.
the new digs. pre-reno, obviously.
Alright, so here’s the Brazills attempt at blogging.
See, many of our friends have turned to a blog to keep their network of loved ones up to date on what’s happening in their lives; it seems like most blogs were sparked by a momentous occasion (primarily the arrival of their first child).
Well, this blog is the result of a momentous occasion, too.
But we’re not having a baby.
We’re having a barn.
Let me explain:
After I got a job in the Philly area, B and I began our real estate hunt. We had this romantic idea of finding an old property and renovating it into our home…… and found what we were looking for right away: this gorgeous wood and stone bank barn on one acre in Media.
But in pursuing the property, we hit one obstacle after another: we couldn’t get in touch with the listing agent, it was under contract (twice), the owners were also selling the adjacent house and didn’t want to sell the properties separately. You name it, we faced it.
But last month, we made an offer on both properties – the house and the barn.
And last week, it was accepted.
So it was July 2009 when we got ourselves into this mess.
And now, 9 agonizing months later, we have an Agreement of Sale.
We’re excited and exhausted.
We basically carried the barn to term.
And it’s only the beginning.
Home Sweet Barn 